Monday, 27 October 2003 - 2:48 PM
0478

This presentation is part of : Student Competition Ten-Minute Papers, D, Medical and Veterinary Entomology

Dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Geotrupidae) of North Carolina cattle pastures and their seasonal distribution

Matt Bertone1, Wes Watson1, and Jim Green2. (1) North Carolina State University, Department of Entomology, Campus Box 7626, Raleigh, NC, (2) North Carolina State University, Department of Crop Science, Campus Box 7620, Raleigh, NC

Dung beetles play an important role in cattle pastures worldwide. This study was conducted to determine the species of dung beetles existing at two sites in North Carolina and the seasonal distribution of these beetles. Pitfall traps baited with cattle dung were used to capture beetles from pastures. The Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) in Goldsboro, NC was chosen for its location in the coastal plains region. This site is characterized by sandy-loam soil and has both dairy and beef cattle. The Piedmont Research Station in Salisbury, NC was chosen to represent the piedmont region. This site has dairy cattle only, and contains soil characterized as Cecil red clay in texture. Both sites had similar dominant species, although species richness was greater in the coastal plains site. The introduced dung beetle Onthophagus taurus Schreber comprised over 60% of beetles caught at both sites.



Species 1: Coleoptera Scarabaeidae Onthophagus taurus (dung beetle)
Species 2: Coleoptera Scarabaeidae Digitonthophagus gazella
Keywords: phenology

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